Deaf dames scam lonely heart

From: Mainichi Shimbun, Japan - Nov 23, 2003

FUJISAWA, Kanagawa -- Two hearing impaired women have been arrested after they duped a deaf man into handing over to them millions of yen in cash and presents because he thought he had a chance of marrying one of them, police said Sunday.

Emi Nishimori, 21, of Yokohama, and Yasuko Tamei, 27, of Tokyo's Machida, were arrested for fraud.

They are accused of encouraging a 38-year-old deaf man from Fujisawa into treating them like princesses in the hope he could marry one of them, even though both women were already married at the time they were in contact with him.

Police said the two women arranged in December last year for Tamei to pretend she was interested in marrying the Fujisawa man. She told him via e-mail that she needed money as a deposit for their home, and introduced him online to Nishimori, saying that the younger woman was a deeply indebted friend who needed cash. The man responded to the women's claims, showering them with cash and gifts valued at about 2 million yen.

Both women were then married to other men, but continued to string along the Fujisawa man as they bilked him for more money, which they used to buy posh watches and bags. He finally saw through the women's plans and alerted the police.

The women's marriages have since collapsed. (Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Nov. 23, 2003)

© 2003 The Mainichi Newspapers Co.